With over 20 years as an artist, naturalist and author, Carel Pieter Brest van Kempen's artistic mission has always been to deepen awareness of the natural world and how it functions. His paintings have received widespread acclaim and have been exhibited worldwide in venues including The Smithsonian, The British Museum, The National Museum of Taiwan and many others, and his solo exhibition has been touring museums of the U.S. since 2003. Among the awards his work has garnered are the Arts for the Parks Wildlife Award (1992) and its contemporary analog, the America's Parks Wildlife Award (2013), The Artists for Conservation Medal of Excellence (2009) and eight Awards of Excellence from the Society of Animal Artists (1994, 1996, 1997, 2004, 2006, 2010, 2012 and 2014). He was named a “Most Honored Artist of Utah” by the Springville Art Museum (2002) and a “Master Signature Member” of the Society of Animal Artists (2008). Brest van Kempen has illustrated over a dozen books and authored the popular coffee table book Rigor Vitae: Life Unyielding (2006). In addition to painting, he actively writes and blogs about natural history and conservation themes.